40 lbs lighter with a darn good Tan!!!

I’m back from the beach and am now 40 lbs lighter than I was on February 26, 2007!!! I can hardly believe it!!! I thought for sure that I was going to gain some weight while down at the beach last week… However, I did stay on plan during the day and the only time I went off was for dinner each night. Even with the dinner cheating, I kept my meals proportionate and if we went out, I asked them to bring me my meal with half already in a to go box. If I don’t see it, I’m not tempted to eat it. Carribean Jacks (a restaurant in Daytona Beach) they were very considerate and did what they could to accommodate me. I was very pleased with the service we received there.
I also had some drinks while I was down there, but I didn’t go overboard. Nothing that would totally throw me over the edge. The only time I think I REALLY wanted something I know I should have was on our way home, I didn’t have my NS meal readily available, so we stopped at Wendy’s for lunch. They always say to stick with the hamburger (without cheese!!) and a drink. So I got a hamburger and a junior frosty. As disgusting as this sounds, I REALLY wanted some Wendy’s fries with my frosty!! I snagged a few from Susan, but not enough to be considered crazy. It was just enough to quench my fried potato thirst.

We had a BEATIFUL time down on the beach. It was great to see everyone in the family. Aunt Sharyn got her first hole in one on a course in Daytona! CONGRATS SHARYN!!! For those of you who don't know, that is VERY hard to do!!!! It was also Talan's first beach trip!!

There were three things missing though.. The most important was Mom.. Mom wasn’t able to come to the beach this year because it was her last week of work. She also had doctors appointments to get her ready for her surgery on June 18. It’s not the same without her there… I think we all (immediate family) agreed that if there comes a time when Mom can’t make it, we’d all just rather stay home.. We missed her like crazy!!
We also missed Michelle and Bre's husband Ed! It was Talan's first beach trip! The beach wasn't too friendly for the little guy, but it was friendly long enough to get some cute pictures!!Michelle's son Cohen was down there, but Michelle just started a new job and was unable to make it this year. I know it killed her to not be there. She is such a beach girl!!! Cohen had a blast and we took lots of pictures so Michelle could see her handsome boy playing in the sand. He reminds me so much of Michelle with his love of the ocean and the sand! I think Michelle could be completely happy if she were to live by the sea. So would Cohen!
We missed Jeff, Heather, Ethan, Jake, and baby girl Howard. Heather is due to give birth to their third child, a girl, in July. We know that they would have come down, and may be able to make it next year. We hope they will be able to! We had fun, but it just wasn’t the same without you all there!!!

We came home early from the beach, because Susan, Dad, Brian, and Lauren all had to work on Thursday. I had taken the whole week off to enjoy my “vacation”. Thursday I got to spend time with Chris, Jesse, Konrad and baby Maya! All are doing well, and adjusting to life as a family of four. Konrad is such a great big brother and he’s such a fantastic little boy! Maya is sooo tiny :-) We were trying to get some good pictures of her for her birth announcement. Also, we wanted to get some photos of Konrad for Fathers day… The series of pictures that I took turned out to fit his personality PERFECT!!! I loved them all!!!

Friday, I left the house at 9:00 and went to get my NC drivers license and get the NC tag as well as the title transfer for my car. I didn’t get home until 4:30 Friday afternoon from doing all of that. Talk about frustrating!! I have a new found respect for my Duddy for doing that for us all of these years. I had no idea that’s what he had to go through every time we needed it done. *YIKES*

I ended my vacation with a trip to the Lake. Susan and I went out there Saturday morning, along with the Bella girl. We got some cleaning done, got some more sunshine, and had a good ole time. We rented movies, ate popcorn, and took care of the cleaning at the lake house. We also brought back one of the twin beds from the lake house to use when mom gets home from the hospital. She won’t be able to go up and down stairs for a while after the surgery.

Well, I’ll end this blog with a happy note… I’m DOWN FOURTY POUNDS!!!! I’m hoping to get TWO bears in my next shipment of food!!!! 30 pounder and 40 pounder!!! YAHOOOOOOOO!!!! I also have a tan!! YAY FOR ME!!! :-)

On another note, please keep Carri’s family in your prayers. Her father is going through a rough time with Cancer, and is going through Chemo. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers! Thank you!!!!